Eastern Conference wins 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic championship

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated Team Fins 2-1 in a shootout in the championship game of the 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic in front of 7,736 fans at the Huntington Center.

The 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic featured a 3-on-3 tournament with four teams competing for the top spot with the host Toledo Walleye making up two of the four teams and facing-off against the other two teams made up of All-Star players from the Eastern and Western Conference. The four teams competed in a 3-on-3 tournament with rally scoring in order to crown a winner.

David Pacan of the Brampton Beast earned Most Valuable Player honors, totaling four points (1g-3a) and winning the accuracy shooting competition by hitting four targets in six attempts.

In the championship game, the Team Fins scored first as Connor Schmidt tallied at 3:07 but the Eastern Conference pulled even just 33 seconds on a goal from South Carolina’s Andrew Cherniwchan. Mingo scored on the first shootout attempt and Team Fins’ A.J. Jenks was stopped by Worcester’s Mitch Gillam to preserve the win.

The CCM/ECHL All-Star Skills Competition was held during the event, with the winning player in each event earning goals toward his team’s score.

In the fastest skater event, Toledo’s Bryan Moore earned a goal for Team Fins by winning the event with a time of 12.97 seconds. Allen’s Alex Breton was second with 13.01 seconds followed by Toledo’s Daniel Leavens at 13.12 seconds and Giorgio Estephan of Newfoundland at 13.56 seconds.

In the hardest shot event, Toledo’s A.J. Jenks earned two goals for Team Fins by registering the hardest shot at 99 miles per hour. Toledo’s Matt Register was second at 95 miles per hour followed by Greenville’s Johno May at 92 miles per hour and Jared VanWormer of Kansas City at 89 miles per hour.

The final skills event was the accuracy shooting competition where Brampton’s David Pacan earned three goals for the Eastern Conference by hitting four targets on six attempts. Toledo’s Greg Wolfe for Team Hooks was second going 4-for-10, Cincinnati’s Vasili Glotov was third at 4-for-16 and Toledo’s T.J. Hensick was fourth at 4-for-17.

ECHL All-Star Classic Game Summaries

Game 1 – Team Hooks 2 vs. Eastern Conference 1

Game 2 – Western Conference 3 vs. Team Fins 1

Game 3 – Western Conference 3 vs. Team Hooks 1

Game 4 – Team Fins 3 vs. Eastern Conference 2

Game 5 – Eastern Conference 3 vs. Western Conference 1

Game 6 – Team Fins 5 vs. Team Hooks 1

Semifinal Game 1 – Team Hooks 3 vs. Team Fins 1

Semifinal Game 2 – Eastern Conference 4 vs. Western Conference 3

Championship Game – Eastern Conference 2 vs. Team Fins 1 (SO)